Automatic trill-producing device for electronic musical instruments

ABSTRACT

An automatic trill-producing device for electronic musical instruments having keyboards is composed of a plurality of switching circuits (or tone generators), a first group and a second group of changeover switches, make-contacts of said first and second groups of changeover switches being connected to said switching circuits (or tone generators) respectively, the breakcontacts and moving contact of said first group of changeover switches being connected in a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;high note priority&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; arrangement, the break contacts and moving contact of said second group changeover switches being connected in a &#39;&#39;&#39;&#39;low note priority&#39;&#39;&#39;&#39; arrangement, an automatic changeover switch connected to a control power source (or an amplifier and a speaker combination), one switch position of said automatic changeover switch being connected to the moving contact of the highest note changeover switch belonging to the first group, and another switch position of said automatic changeover switch being connected to the moving contact of the lowest note changeover switch belonging to the second group.

United States Patent Akira Nakada Nakazawa-cho, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuokaken, Japan AUTOMATIC TRILL-PRODUCING DEVICE FOR ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS Primary Examiner-Mi1ton O. Hirshfield Assistant ExaminerB. A. Reynolds Attorney-Holman, Glascock, Downing & Seebold ABSTRACT: An automatic trill-producing device for elec tronic musical instruments having keyboards is composed of a plurality of switching circuits (or tone generators), a first group and a second group of changeover switches, make-com tacts of said first and second groups of changeover switches being connected to said switching circuits (or tone generators) respectively, the break-contacts and moving contact of said first group of changeover switches being connected in a 3 Claims 3 Drawing Figs high note priority arrangement, the break contacts and movmg contact of said second group changeover switches being 11.8. C1. 84/124 md i a l n te priority arrangement, an automatic f CL Glob ll02 changeover switch connected to a control power source (or an Field of Search 84/ 1.24, lifi and a Speaker combination) one Switch position f (D), (O), (B) said automatic changeover switch being connected to the R f d moving contact of the highest note changeover switch belonge erences l e ing to thefirst group, and another switch position of said auto- UNITED STATES PATENTS matic changeover switch being connected to the moving con- 3,476,864 11/1969 Munch et a1 84/1.24X tact of the lowest note changeover switch belonging to the 3,484,529 12/1969 Moore 84/ 1.24X second group.

20 TONE GENERATOR I l CIRCUIT COMPONENT l SPEAKER r- H ,I 4 I I0 AMPLIFIER \jg SWITCHING DEVICE l I o I g I T I I (ri I l .g o: fi l 5 AUTOMATIC 1:1 I I SWITCH (I CI J l CONTROL POWER SOURCE ll SPEAKER AMPLIFIER SWITCH souRcE II SPEAKER |O AMPLIFIER SWITCHING DEVICE SWITCH 1 IO 2 SWITCHING DEVICE 5 AUTOMATIC CONTROL POWER 5 AUTOMATIC l CIRCUIT COMPONENT l CIRCUIT COMPONENT 2Q TONE GENERATOR 20 TONE GENERATOR I '1\ A l 8 TRILL-NORMAL SHEET 1 OF 2 FIG.

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CONTROL PowER SOURCE PATENTEI] FEB23 IBII PATENTEUFEB23I97I I I saw 2 OF FIG.'3

9 TONE GENERATOR El I SPEAKER INVENTOR.

4km? Mo mm IO AMPLIFIER AUTOMATIC L-PRODUCING DEVICE FOR ELECTRONIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to electronic musical instruments and more particularly to a new automatic trill-producing device for electronic musical instruments.

Generally speaking, the term "trill means a kind of ornamental sound wherein a principal note and an auxiliary note two scale degrees above the principal note are rapidly alternated or means for obtaining such an ornamental sound.

However, in playing a piano, organ, or an electronic musical instrument, the production of good trill sounds requires a long period of training, and, moreover, there is a limitation to the trilling frequency. Furthermore, no musical instrument capable of automatically producing trills has been proposed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the primary object of thepresent invention is to provide a novel organization of an electronic musical instrument having a keyboard, which is capable of automatically producing trill sounds by the mere depressing of two keys between which each trill sound is desired to be alternated.

switches being connected in a high note priority arrangement, break-contacts and moving contacts of said second groupfichangeover switches being connected in a "low note priority arrangement, an automatic changeover switch connected to a control power source or to an amplifier and loudspeaker combination, one switch position of said automatic changeover switch being connected to the moving contact of the highest note changeover switch belonging to the first group, and another switch position of said automatic changeover switch being connected to the moving contact of the lowest note changeover switch belonging to the second group, whereby electric energy from said control power source is alternately conducted to said switching circuits, or the tone signals generated from said tone generators are alternately conveyed to said amplifier and loudspeaker combination.

The nature, principle, and utility of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed description with respect to preferred embodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are designated by like reference numerals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a trill device according to the present inventioruand FIGS. 2 and 3 are block diagrams showing other examples of the trill device also according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION In the present invention, the term trill is used with a somewhat expanded meaning, so that the terms trill, high note priority," and low note priority" which are used frequently in this specification will be defined as follows.

Trill: A method of playing wherein two sounds different in scale degrees are rapidly alternated or the result of such playmg.

High note priority connection: A mode of connection of changeover switches interlinked with the'keyboard of an electronic musical instrument, wherein the changeover switches each having a make-contact (normally opened contact), a break-contact (normally closed contact), and a moving contact are connected sequentially in such a manner that a breakcontact of a switch located at the high note side is connected to the moving contact of an adjacent switch located at the low note side of the former switch, and all of the make-contacts of the abovedescribed changeover switches are connected, for instance, respectively to switching circuits and the moving contact of the switch interlinked to the highest note key is connected to an electric source, whereby, when a plurality of switches interlinked respectively with a group of keys are depressed simultaneously, only the make-contact of a switch interlinked with the highest note key in the group is connected to the power source.

Low note priority connection: A mode of connection of the changeover switches that is substituted Low note for High note in the definition as to the above-mentioned High note" connection, whereby when a plurality of switches interlinked respectively with a group of keys are depressed simultaneously, only the make-contact of a switch interlinked with the lowest note key in the group is connected to the electric power source.

Referring now to FIG. 1 showing a block diagram of an example of the trill device according to the present invention, a portion of the diagram designated by reference numeral 1 and encircled by a broken line is one of the circuit components of the trill device, one component being provided for each key of the keyboard of a musical instrument to which the trill producing device according to the present invention is applied. Since this circuit component 1 is positioned at the extreme right-hand side, as viewed in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the circuit component 1 corresponds to the key of the highest note in the keyboard and the succeeding circuit components correspond to keys of the subsequent notes descending sequentially from the right to the left.

Each of the circuit components 1 comprises a switching circuit 2 which passes or stops a tone signal when a control terminal is energized from a control power source as in the case of the conventional switching circuit. A tone signal from a tone generator 2a is delivered to an amplifier 10 when each of the switching circuits 2 is closed under energization of the control terminal as described above.

In the circuit components 1, there are also provided with two groups of changeover switches 3 and 4 which are open-orclosed in interlinked relationship with each other and also with the keyboard, and each of the switches 3 and 4 has a make-contact, a breakecontact, and a moving contact as described herein before. Furthermore, one group of the changeover switches 3 are connected in high note priority, and the other group of the transfer switches 4 are connected in low note priority."

There is also provided an automatic switch 5, one contact of which is connected to the moving contact of a changeover switch 3 corresponding to the lowest note key, and the other contact of which is connected to the moving contact of a changeover switch 4 corresponding to the lowest note key. The moving contact of the automatic switch 5 is connected to a control power source 6 provided for controlling the switching circuits 2. With this arrangement, the automatic switch 5 connects the control power source 6 to the above described moving contact alternately at a frequency of, for instance, 10 Hz which is equivalent to a desired frequency of the trill. The function of the automatic switch 5 may also be realized by employing any of the conventional transferring measures such as an electromagnetic relay or an electronic multivibrator.

It should be noted that the control terminal of the switching circuits 2 are connected to the make-contacts of the changeover switches 3 and 4 interlinked with each other and also with respective keys on the keyboard, and that the moving contact of the changeover switch 3 corresponding to the highest note and the moving contact of the changeover switch 4 corresponding to the lowest note are alternately connected to the control power source 6 through the automatic switch 5.

In FIG. 2 showing another example of the trill device according to the present invention, wherein parts similar to those in the circuit of FIG. 1 are designated by correspondingly like reference numerals, there are additionally provided a plurality of diodes 7 which are connected respectively to the moving contact of the changeover switches 4, and a trill-normal selecting switch 8 which can be operated by an operator of the musical instrument when he desires to render a trill sound. The other terminals of the diodes 7 are commonly connected to one contact of the selecting switch 8, and the other contact of the switch 8 is connected to the moving contact of the automatic switch 5. The normally conducting directions of the diodes 7 are from thejtransferring arms of the switches 4 toward the commonly connected contact of the selecting switch 8. y 3

The examples of the trill device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 operate as follows. j

In the device of FIG. 1 when two keys corresponding to two notes between which a trill sound is desired are continuously depressed, the control power source 6 is alternately connected to the control terminalsof two switching devices 2 in the circuit components 1 corresponding respectively to said two keys on the keyboard, through the changeover switches 3 and 4 connected in high note priority" and low note priority and through the automatic switch 5 which is alternating at the above described frequency. v

Thus, in the period when the control power source 6 is connected to' the moving contact of the switch 3, the switching device 2 corresponding to the higher note key operates so that a higher tone is delivered, and in the period when the control power source 6 is connected to'the moving contact of the switch 4, another switch device 2 corresponding to the lower note key operates so that a lower tone is delivered, whereby when the two tones are alternated at a frequency determined by the automatic switch 5, a desired trill'sound is produced from the musical instrument. a

Whenever three or more keys are ternating between the highest note and the lowest note out of these depressed keys is obtained, and, when only one key is depressed, the same note is continuously delivered from the musical instrument, and there is no'disturbance or trouble of the playing of the musical instrument.

The device shown in FIG. 2 has a provision whereby normal performance and trill performance can be selected from one to the other. When the trill-normal selecting switch 8 is thrown into the indicated position, the control power source 6 is connected to a moving contact of the switch 4 corresponding to a depressed key through a diode 7, and an ordinary performance of the musical instrument can be obtained. Although the direction of the diodes 7 is indicated to be suitable for a control power source 6 having negative polarity, it will be apparent that the conductive direction of the diodes 7 may be reversed if a control power source 6 of positive polarity is desired. Furthermore, although the diodes 7 are indicated to be connected to the switches 4, it. will be apparent that the diodes 7 may also be connected to the switches 3 for obtaining similar results. '1-

When the trill-normal selecting switch, 8 is thrown into a position opposite to the indicated position, the control power source 6 is connected similarly as in the case of FIG. 1, whereby the trill is rendered as described above. In this case, the commonly connected terminalsof the diodes 7 are disconnected from the control power source '6, and the diodes 7 are connected reversely in the circuit passing through the commonly connected terminals of the diodes 7, whereby the existence of the diodes 7 has no influence on the trill-producing operation of this device.

Still another embodiment of the present invention is shown depressed, a trill sound alin FIG. 3. In this example, the output terminals of tone generageover switches 3 and 4 interlinked with the keyboard are connected in high note pnonty and flow note priority respectively, and connected to the automatic switch 5 as described in the two preceding examples; The moving contact of the automatic switch 5 is now connected to an amplifier 10 and a loudspeaker l1, successively;

With this arrangement, the trill is obtained in such a manner that the output tones from the tone generators 9 are transferred alternately by means of the automatic switch 5 and then connected to the amplifier 10 and the loudspeaker 11 for delivering the trill sound. In this case, the operations of the changeover switches 3 and 4 connected in high note priority" and low note priority and also of the automatic switch 5 are quite similar to those in the aforedescribed examples.

in all of the above described examples of the trill-producing device according to the present invention, the trill sound can be produced merely by depressing two keys between which the trill sound is desired to be alternated, and the transfer or changeover between trill operation and normal operation of the musical instrument can also be carried out by means of a simple switch. v

Although the invention has been described with respect to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent that various modifications, such as the use of tone generators instead of the switching devices in FIG. 2 and anamplifier and loudspeaker combination instead of the control power source of the same drawing, with all of the'diodes connected as in the case of FIG. 2, can also be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

lclaim:

1. An automatic trill-producing device for an electronic musical instrument having a keyboard, comprising a plurality of switching devices for passing-or-stopping tone signals, first and second groups of changeover switches respectively interlinked to keys of the keyboard and connected according to high note priority and low note priority" modes, make contacts of said first and second groups-of changeover switches being connected to said switching devices, an automatic switch operable at a predetermined frequency having a contact point connected to a moving contact of a first group changeover switch interlinked with the highest note key and another contact point connected to a moving contact of a second group changeover switch interlinked with the lowest note key, and a control power source connected to said automatic switch.

2. An automatic trill-producing device as set forth in claim 1 wherein a plurality of diodes are further connected respectively to said second group of changeover switches, and a trill-normal selecting switch is provided between said automatic switch and said control power source.-

3. An automatic trill-producing device for an electronic musical instrument having a keyboard, comprising a plurality of tone generators, first and second groups of changeover switches respectively interlinked to keys of the keyboard and connected according to high note priority and low note priority modes, make contacts of said first and second groups of changeover switches being connected to said switching devices, an automatic switch operable at a predetermined frequency having a contacting point connected to a moving contact of a first group changeover switch interlinked with the highest note key and another contact point connected to a moving contact of a second group changeover switch interlinked with the lowest note key, and an amplifier and loudspeaker combination for delivering the trill sound from the trill-producing device. a 

1. An automatic trill-producing device for an electronic musical instrument having a keyboard, comprising a plurality of switching devices for passing-or-stopping tone signals, first and second groups of changeover switches respectively interlinked to keys of the keyboard and connected according to ''''high note priority'''' and ''''low note priority'''' modes, make contacts of said first and second groups of changeover switches being connected to said switching devices, an automatic switch operable at a predetermined frequency having a contact point connected to a moving contact of a first group changeover switch Interlinked with the highest note key and another contact point connected to a moving contact of a second group changeover switch interlinked with the lowest note key, and a control power source connected to said automatic switch.
 2. An automatic trill-producing device as set forth in claim 1 wherein a plurality of diodes are further connected respectively to said second group of changeover switches, and a trill-normal selecting switch is provided between said automatic switch and said control power source.
 3. An automatic trill-producing device for an electronic musical instrument having a keyboard, comprising a plurality of tone generators, first and second groups of changeover switches respectively interlinked to keys of the keyboard and connected according to ''''high note priority'''' and ''''low note priority'''' modes, make contacts of said first and second groups of changeover switches being connected to said switching devices, an automatic switch operable at a predetermined frequency having a contacting point connected to a moving contact of a first group changeover switch interlinked with the highest note key and another contact point connected to a moving contact of a second group changeover switch interlinked with the lowest note key, and an amplifier and loudspeaker combination for delivering the trill sound from the trill-producing device. 